Melody
by illegiblewriter
Summary: Naraku finds an ancient spell: a magical melody that causes death. Few are immune, and the only one who can stop the spell is the reincarnation of the creator. But can she escape it herself? *Miroku/Sango! Pls r/r!*
1. Legend

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha. If I did, you wouldn't be reading this. Instead, it would be in script form and movie-making executives would be reading it. Not you. Be very glad I don't own Inuyasha or in twelve months you would be paying to see this at your local theater. 

Melody 

~ Prologue: Legend

                Translation of the writings of Kei, Elder of the Last Sorcery in the Mountains: 

                _"Kisei has swept the land… it goes everywhere, flowing like the mountain stream and changing everything it touches. When it attacks, every person for miles is gone at once. So very few can escape it. Those who do, live a nightmare as all surrounding them fall, a victim to this terrible plague. _

_                "I myself am one of these being tortured by kisei. My fellow village-men have all fallen ill… all except Jevijo, who remains healthy and young. The women seem to somehow be coping better than Jevijo and I though… there are six still remaining. _

_                "Here on this mountain, we are all sorcerers and sorceresses, hiding from the rest of the world. But even with all our powers, we do not know what is causing this outbreak of death. Ckla, my daughter-in-law before she died last week, used her crystal ball to try and see what may be the cause. We were all huddled around the shining orb, expecting to see something like a herd of sick animals, or a hive of deadly insects… we never expected what we saw._

_                "It was a field… a white fence held in a herd of sheep, their snowy wool shaved off and laying in a large wooden crate next to the fence. All of them were snuggling together, trying to keep warm from each other's bodies. Ckla ordered the orb to tell more, and the vision moved a slight to the right._

_                "There, we saw hunched on top of the white fence, the shepherd. A young girl with raven black hair playing a piccolo. Her tune was subtle and floated across the summer breeze so easily it took minutes for us to realize that she was playing at all. She piped away, unaware that hundreds of miles away the greatest sorcerers in the world were watching her._

_                "Ckla opened her mouth, preparing to tell the crystal ball that she needed to know more when… the melody playing from within the ball shattered through and we heard the tune being played louder. We were wrapped within the haunting sounds of the music before the crystal ball broke entirely and Ckla passed out. _

_                "Four suns later, half the village was dead. A week since, and it is only I, Jevijo, and six others who remain. _

_                "Jevijo has called the melody we called that day Kisei, because that is what it causes."_

                The reader stopped and glanced over the ancient scroll and looked at the clothed figure across the cave-room from him. 

                "Is that all?" The man beneath the blue baboon mask and white cloak asked.

                The short green reader nodded. 

Naraku sighed, "Did they ever retrieve the piccolo?"

"Yes sir," he finally spoke.

"Bring it to me," 

The slimy creature paused a moment and gulped, but still he left and obeyed Naraku's orders, brining back with him from the depths of the cave a piccolo and placed it in the open hands of Naraku. 

Beneath the cloak, Naraku smiled. He placed a hand on the ancient instrument and a wisp of something baby-aqua blue floated out. Capturing the cloud in his hand, Naraku held it to his lips and sucked it in. 

When he opened his eyes, they shone with the knowledge of the deadly melody's tune and he placed his lips to the piccolo and slowly let loose air…Playing rhythmically the old tune, Naraku halted after five minutes of play to look at the translator of the Sorcerer's script. 

He was on the floor, gasping for breath and clutching his stomach, writhing and squirming. The half-demon beneath the cloak smirked, stood, and exited the dark cave and muttered to the small demon words incoherent to all but them. 

"Enjoy your final hours of life. The spell has been revived from the dead. The melody Kisei will sweep the land once again. And all who hear it will die."

**A/n: **Sorry that's short, but this is only the prologue, this is just meant to hook you. ^__^ I'm a huge Miroku/Sango fan, so expect romance! (But still a little Action/Adventure!)

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	2. First Sound

Disclaimer: Yeah. Right. Melody 

~ Chapter One: First Sound

It wasn't the most desirable place to be… not in the least. The forest was aging and decaying, molding and dying, collapsing and diminishing slowly into a pile of rotten wood. And yet here they were, in the middle of it.

What it was that led Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Miroku to the decaying forest (that was quite literally crashing in upon them) could all be contributed to Sango's memory of a demon hunt in the parts when she was young. It had been one of her first missions, and it had been a lengthy one, leading her across several miles of countryside scenery. 

Through the weeks of the long search, Sango had become considerably familiar with the land for an outsider… and a vague map of the place still remained lodged in her mind. The mountains to the very south, the canyon-like ditch lined with boulders, the abandoned shepherd's pasture, and the dead forest.

She happened to remember passing through a village located just south of the dead forest, one in which rumors were spreading of frequent attacks by demons to their crops. 

Inuyasha and the rest, suspecting a jewel shard, had ordered her to lead them through to the village immediately. But when she did so, it was through much controversy. Whether to take the right and avoid the forest, or to take the left and get there quicker. Naturally, left was the decided route. However, there was a slight problem that met them in the middle of the forest…. shallow and swamp-like waters filled with dead plants and fungi.

Plowing through the sludge, Inuyasha and band picked up their feet, heavy with murky water and covered by dead moss and branches, and stepped through the irksome swamp. 

             "You just had to take to take the way through the muddy, sludgy, filthy and all-over disgusting _swamp_ didn't you Sango?" Inuyasha scolded, pinching his nose to hide his highly in-tune dog senses from the foul smell. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied with feigned sincerity, "would you have preferred the tribe of vicious man-eating giants to the left?" Sango snapped back, she didn't hold her nose, but rather pulled a foot from beneath the shallow waters and shook the muck off of it before setting it down again in another step through the crowded waters. 

             "Actually, YES!" He hollered back. 

             "Oh really? Well then, why don't you just—" Sango rolled up her sleeves as she clinched her teeth when Miroku grabbed her arm before it could swing at the half-dog-demon. Sango yanked her arm from his clutches and have a huffy sigh as Shippo spoke for the other three travelers.

             "Would you guys stop it?! You've got plenty of other chances to argue! Let's just get out of here! Kagome says she can sense a jewel shard!" Everyone turned to look Shippo, who was perched in the basket of Kagome's bike being tugged along by said owner. 

             "Do you really Kagome?" 

             Kagome nodded at Inuyasha, "Just a bit further along." 

With the promise of a jewel shard, Inuyasha ignored the damp and humid weather as well as the grassy water and picked his way to the end of the slush. Once out, he and Miroku held out a hand to the girls and helped get the bicycle out of the murk. 

             Sango sighed, "Okay, I know this place, we just go through there," she pointed ahead through the forest, "and then a village should be just to the left." She took in a deep, exhausted breath. 

             "Let's just hope there's no more water that way…" Inuyasha mumbled, kicking off a bundle of mossy vines on his foot. 

             No one could stop Sango this time. She swung her fist and hit the half-demon squarely on the back of the head. 

-- --- -- ---- - --

             Darkness shrouded the mountains, shading the aging farmer from the waves of heat from the midday sun. He crept silently up the steep mountainside, hanging on to dear life to his crane. Even with such a hindrance as his worthless foot, the man knew the path he followed and never misplaced so much as a pebble. Breathing in deeply, he moved as stealthily as it was humanely possible at his age. Whenever he took a breath, he listened intently. 

He was following something… a sound. An enchanting sound. 

The man had first heard it down at the very bottom of the mountain while he had been checking his crops; it had been quiet and subtle, barely noticeable. It intrigued him, why would anyone be playing music now when there was so much work to be done protecting the village from demons? Even as he climbed up, further up than most would go, the puzzling sound refused to get louder. It was stubborn and he was having quite a time trying to follow it. 

Gradually, the music began to blend with the rushing sounds of a river. The river's sound wasn't nearly as hard to locate as the melody's; he could tell that it was flowing down the mountainside just a tad to the left and a few more yards up. 

He was so tired…. he hadn't climbed this high in ages… it would be best to stop and drink for a break, or so he convinced himself.

So he took one last lean against the rock wall and continued his hike to the stream.

Every step he took became harder than the last, he didn't know if he was just weary or… he trudged on, and taking a curve around a sharp boulder he stepped off the regular path to a much less traveled road and glanced up. 

Rock walls lined each side; it was like a ceiling-less hallway. At the end of natural made hallway were a pool and a plot of grass. A single tree grew at the foot of the pool. He eyed the tree and pool before step by step walking toward them. 

The fruit of the tree was unknown to him, so he decided not to eat from it and instead sat beneath the shade and wiped the sweat from his brow. He was old… his hair was gray and his tiny eyes were lost in the lumps of wrinkles surrounding them. His face was thin, as was the rest of him, but he looked surprisingly strong. His cane was elegant, straight and strong and tipped in gold. He used it for his left leg that was wrapped stiffly in torn bandages. 

The fabric had obviously seen better days. Parts were tattered and worn brown with dirt, and even near his knee a hole had been worn, revealing a scarred and bloody bone beneath. The man sighed as he looked down at it, and winced slightly when he touched it… just to see if maybe the pain had finally gone away. 

Leaning back, he looked over at the pool, which ran over the side and began to weave elegantly through the mountain peaks. Clearly this was the source of the stream he had heard earlier. After a few moments of listening to the tune that was still playing even over the noise of the stream below, the man leaned forward a little and dipped his hat into the pool, and pulled out a cupful of clear, mountain water.

He drank eagerly, letting the cool water soothe his sore throat and cleanse his body. He dipped the hat again and pulled out more water. He continued this process until he was full. 

Lying back, he relaxed and listened to the music… it was getting louder. 

At last, it was getting louder. He had waited for this… he didn't know why, but for some reason the music was calling him… calling him toward it. That was why he had climbed to high… to listen. 

The melody played… it soothed him. He must find whom it was that was playing, he must ask for them to come to his village and play more… the sound was so good.

Even as he thought this, the music was getting louder; it was crowding his ears. It consumed him.

It got louder…

And louder…

And louder…

And then… in one swift moment, the music stopped playing in his ears. He was gone. The sweet and harmonious melody had killed him.

-- --- -- ---- - --

             Still rubbing his throbbing head, Inuyasha led his group of five through the tangled forest to the very end, where their sore eyes were greeted with a _very pleasant sight._

             In contrast to the drab and dreary forest this scene was bright and jovial. Sunlight danced, a cloud drifted, and birds swung lazily from their branches twittering away a wordless call. The lush grass swayed in the cool breeze, and to complete the picturesque scenery, a snow-capped mountain chain provided a looming and ominous backdrop beyond the stony canyon that lay at their feet. 

             The light was blinding to the travelers just escaping the dark forest and they shielded their eyes from the threatening light. 

             "So beautiful…" Kagome whispered, awestruck. 

             Inuyasha snorted, "Well, I'll like it better when we have its' jewel shard in my hand. Lets get going,"

             Kagome frowned but followed down the hill regardless. She turned her head back at the others who were just trailing and asked Sango for the directions.

             "Just keep going to the left, it's about a few miles away. You can even see the smoke coming from the fires. See?" She pointed to the sky where streaming lines wove up in a thin wisp of gray. Her companions nodded and they steered in the direction of the faint fires.

             After climbing down the steep hill, they ran into an orchard. Against nearly every tree there was a ladder and a basket, half full of round fruit. Every now and then they ran into a gardener who was climbing down from a tree, they seemed eager that they were there to help them with their demon problem and excitedly described the way to the elder's house once they arrived in the village. The village was apparently still awhile off because even once they had crossed through the orchard they still could only just make out the small rooftops.

             Inuyasha grumbled as they found their way on a muddy and deep-worn path. "More mud, I'm walking on the side of the path thank you," He stepped up off the trail and the others did the same. 

Aimlessly kicking aside a stone Miroku sighed, "Do we even know what kind of demon it is that they've got running around out here?" 

"Nope. Not a clue." 

"Well, not like they usually do anyway," Sango replied to Inuyasha. All nodded knowingly as they picked their way through the grasses. Every now and then one of them would look up to see how much farther they had advanced toward the village.

"We're about there, only another mile or two." 

"Good thing too," Inuyasha snorted. The others glared but walked on, nearing the distressed village with every step. 

When at last they reached the gates a short, balding man of about thirty met them. His beady eyes shone like black little beetles and from either side of his squashed nose gray whiskers sprouted, giving him a thin but very gray beard. His voice croaked dryly through parched lips, "Hello, welcome to * cough* the village of * cough * Jeri. How my I * cough * help you?" 

"We hear you have a demon problem," Inuyasha threw up his red sleeve to hide his mouth from the old man's coughs. 

"Oh yes, * cough *. And quite an awful one at that," He nodded enthusiastically and the others worried if his large head would fall off of his thin and frail neck. 

"We'll finish off the demon if we get to keep anything we find on him," The dog-demon replied, his voice muffled.

"Anything on him you say? Well, * cough * I'm not quite sure what that means but— if you can rid us of him then so be it."

"Good, now if you don't mind, we'd like to find out a little about him." 

"Sure thing," he turned around and limped a few steps down the road, "follow me." He waved his arm at them and the band followed closely behind. "Zeke! Take watch would you? I've got some company to attend to!" 

"Sure thing boss!" A young and dirty boy of twelve leaped from the top of a half-finished roof and shuffled past Kagome and Shippo to replace the man's position at the front gate. 

"My name is Itaki. Zeke is my apprentice… he's working odd jobs for now but he's helpful. I'll have him show you around the village later. Right now I will be taking you to the elder's cabin so you can learn more of our demon."

Itaki led them through the dusty and winding streets of Jeri, cautiously avoiding the many wagons of rice and newly sewn cloth. Every now and again a local would look up from their duties to nod their heads or to curtsy. Muddy children ran up to him with broken toys and torn books… he always sent the children back to Zeke to fix their things. 

Kagome sighed, "What a wonderfully peaceful village this is."

"It _is very nice," Sango agreed, eyeing an old woman reading to a handful of five year-olds on her porch. "To think that these poor children have to live with the fear of a demon running around."_

"Would you two shut up? This place isn't any different from all the others. I don't see why you have to get all emotional – they're just some little kids."

"Inuyasha!"

"Oh, c'mon! Really Kagome— all this 'happiness and love' thing these people have got going on is making me sick!"

Kagome stiffened, her face turned a deep shade of red and she slapped the dog demon on the back of the head. 

"Aaah! What was that for?!"

"For being so insensitive." She huffed and marched with her head held high in front of him. 

"Wha? – Owch!" Inuyasha fell, face flat to the ground as Sango followed suit. 

"You deserved that," she muttered, picking her way over his beaten body.

Inuyasha moaned as he tried to stand up from the ferocious hit by the demon slayer. Staring at their retreating figures, he asked Miroku, "What on Earth is wrong with them?"

"A better question may be what is wrong with you," He replied matter-of-factly. 

"Excuse me?"

"A woman's mind is complex, my friend. She has very tender feelings that must be regarded with care. You must be kind and consoling to understand their minds." 

"And I'm sure you know all about a woman's mind, don't you Miroku?" Sarcasm dripped from every word the half-breed muttered with rolling eyes.

"We * cough * have arrived," Itaki pushed open a door at the nearest house and ushered Shippo, the two "overly sensitive" women and the two "sexist" men into the dark room.

Dark… and filled with smoke. The smell of burning wood clogged their senses, their eyes burned and their lungs choked. The thick, gray steam stung at their outside bodies as each one tried to pierce through the shield of smoke and find a safe place to sit. Steps just into the cabin Sango made out a smudge of yellow and pointed the others to it. When they had made their way to the flame they were able, through eyes that were gasping for clean breath, to make out a small and frail figure at the edge of the fire.

" * cough * Well, at least now we know why * cough * Itaki has such a problem with * cough * speaking clearly," Inuyasha choked. 

"Mmmm… mm hmmm," Kagome replied, holding her breath and doing her best to allow the least amount of smoke to pass through her lungs. 

"Welcome," The elder's voice was deep and solemn. He received several coughs in return and seemed to accept them as "hello's" even though Inuyasha's hand seemed to only have one finger when it was raised to hide his cough. 

"Our demon, we're afraid, is a peculiar one. I have dealt with many demons in my years but this one seems… odd."

"How so sir?" Sango so far was maintaining the most dignity of the group in the stuffed cabin.

"He comes out at night –"

"This is supposed to be uncommon?" Inuyasha muttered.

"You didn't let me finish my young friend," Inuyasha rolled his eyes, " He comes out at night, but he does not attack the people. He destroys everything _but_ the people."

"He attacks everything except for the people… and you're calling this a problem? There could be things much worse you know—"

"Maybe not the people directly… he is taking out all of our supplies… slowly starving us, it like we are under siege."

"Sir, would you mind describing the way this demon looks? I think I may recognize it…"

"Of course… he is a swamp green, and is a serpent of the sky: he has wings but no feet, we are not sure if this is a water creature or a bird!"

"I _do know what type this is. This will be a fairly easy task: he is indeed neither a fish nor a bird. My father defeated one a few years ago by choking it. Sticks, rocks, smoke… berries especially choke him dumb. Once you knock him out, he will be easy enough to handle." Sango stood up, "Do you mind if we leave for a few hours to find tools?" _

"Not at all… take Zeke, he knows the land well enough." They all rose from the floor and began to exit, when the elder called out to them, "and if you would be so kind as to help Zeke find Moori. The man has gone missing again and I really need to speak to him about something." 

"We sure will…" Kagome smiled and closed the door. 

"Do you * cough * know your way * cough * back?" Itaki asked.

"I think we can find it." Miroku set off leading the way.

"Eh, perhaps you don't," the man's course voice spoke from behind them, "the gate is in the other direction," he pointed opposite the side Miroku had begun to go. 

"Er… right, well, lead the way then."

             Zeke left the post to Itaki and guided the group through the surrounding area. He took Sango to the ditch where he told her she would find the most of her needed supplies to choke the demon. She was given a basket and set off down the ditch on her own. He then led Miroku, Inuyasha and Shippo to the fields where Moori usually worked.

             "He'll be here somewhere… you might even want to check the mountains if you can't find him here. But don't go too high up… it gets exhausting and there's no water for you there." He spoke cheerily and left them to search while he helped Sango…

-- --- -- ---- - --

He glided stealthily through the upper most regions of the mountains… his white cloak sweeping over the cold rocks. The piccolo was stashed away in a golden case in his front pocket. He was searching for the best peak in the mountains to play… the place where it would be heard the most. 

Taking a momentary walk off the trail, he found an old man… lying at the feet of a pond. He was dead… he had heard the music. 

Naraku remembered the first time he had played the piccolo. The reader/translator had cringed and writhed on the ground before dying… this man didn't seem to have suffered at all, not by the look of absolute peacefulness on his face. No, this man had passed away calmly and swiftly. 

He briefly recalled hearing of this before… this music… it killed, and it tortured, but in different ways. Some would die of illness, some in agony, some in peace, and others would become insane. Few people reacted the same way… in the legends, there had been stories of demons turning into humans at the sound of the melody, humans becoming demons, some fell delirious before dying… the melody was creative in it's ways of destruction. 

This would be fun.

-- --- -- ---- - --

It echoed off the rocky walls of the deep ditch, an eerie melody… haunting and enchanting. It mystified and bewitched all the birds so that all vocal activity by the winged creatures ceased and left the tune to float into any ears willing to listen. From her position picking up her dropped basket of berries, Sango's ears pricked and tuned intently to the whispering song. Her eyes flashed, _I've heard this before… and then she fainted and her mind went blank._

A/n: Yay! But I wouldn't expect updates of this for a while: My DBZ fans are hanging me for temporarily abandoning my fics. I've got to update a couple of those first. Heh heh. See ya around! Please review! (BTW: Romance is _later_ in the fic… but it _will_ be there… it's just a matter of doing this realistically.) 


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